Chapter Summaries

Li Wei countered the Kingdom of Kront’s giant legion by targeting vulnerable limbs, directing concentrated fire, and ordering mines planted along the main roads. The giants breached the defenses and threatened his command, but Li Wei helped the Warlord Class destroy their leader as the battle continued.

• Li Wei recognized that the giants used shields and smoke to close in on the Empire’s slower Mecha, then ordered the Knights to concentrate fire and the Hounds to attack Kront soldiers.
• Li Wei shot a giant in the knee, enabling the Knights to bring it down, and ordered Commander French to plant mines along the roads before the second defensive line.
• The Hounds harassed the Kront infantry while the giants charged the retreating Mecha, and several giants fell to concentrated fire and explosives.
• The giant commander ordered his forces to discard their shields, but mines stopped their advance; he diverted through ruined buildings and destroyed a Mecha with his battle-axe.
• The giant commander charged Li Wei’s Warlord Class, and Li Wei shot him from behind to expose him to the Warlord Class’s main cannon, which killed him.

After the Empire defeated Kront’s attack on Delai Port, Li Wei disguised himself as a Kront soldier and followed the retreat to Deburg to find evidence linking the Rothfield Family to Kront’s military leaders. He eavesdropped on a meeting where Kront discussed its defeat, then heard the corps commander call Rothfield Bank.

• Lieutenant General Feng Ryan ordered Kront’s forces to retreat after the Giant Legion was destroyed, while Commander French learned that Li Wei had left the battlefield.
• Li Wei disguised himself in a Kront uniform and joined the retreating troops to Deburg, hoping to find records proving the Rothfield Family had colluded with Kront.
• Li Wei used the Twin-Tailed Pixie to enter Lieutenant General Feng Ryan’s pocket and listen as Feng Ryan reported the Empire’s ambush and Kront’s losses to the corps commander.
• A young second lieutenant argued that Kront should have deployed its Beastified Armor Corps instead of wasting resources on the Giant Project.
• After Feng Ryan left, the corps commander called Rothfield Bank.

Commander Bickgu confronted Brando Rothfield over intelligence that led to a disastrous attack on Delai Port, then shot him and escaped before the bank exploded. Li Wei calmly ate at a nearby restaurant as the blast shook Deburg.

• Brando learned that the army had surrounded the Rothfield Bank and entered his office to arrest him as an imperial spy.
• Commander Bickgu accused Brando of supplying the intelligence behind the failed attack on Delai Port, and Brando showed him correspondence implicating another family branch.
• Bickgu questioned whether the Rothfield Family could answer for the tens of thousands of soldiers who had died, then shot Brando.
• Soldiers found Brando dead and discovered a ticking device beneath his desk, while Bickgu had vanished.
• The device exploded, setting the bank's top floor ablaze as Li Wei continued eating sausages and potato pancakes at a nearby restaurant.

As protests over the Empire’s war losses grew, Li Wei returned to Fog City with intelligence implicating the Rothfield Family in the unrest. The Queen prepared to expose them as an offering to the angry public, while Li Wei asked her to consider laws restraining financiers.

• The Queen and Princess Louise watched opposing protesters clash over whether the Empire should continue its war with Cront, and the Queen rejected imposing wartime regulations to suppress them.
• Li Wei gave the Queen intelligence, and she summoned Sir Richard after reading it.
• The Queen offered Li Wei a reward, but his request for laws restraining capitalists prompted her to suggest he marry Princess Louise; Li Wei declined the implied match.
• Sir Richard confirmed that the Rothfield Family backed both sides of the protests and held stakes in media outlets and newspapers.
• Li Wei explained that financial capitalists manipulated events for profit and said the Rothfield Family sought to weaken the Royal Family, regardless of the Empire’s losses.
• The Queen said she would consider Li Wei’s proposal once the crisis was settled and prepared to give the public an offering to appease their anger.

After the Battle of Delai Port, the Queen exposed the Rothfield Family’s treason and used the scandal to purge Ite nobles and enact sweeping reforms. Meanwhile, Li Wei received good news about Dr. Tester’s power system and ordered Erin to build a mecha from his new design.

• Francis and the Olucci Empire launched offensives against Cront while the Queen focused on the Empire’s unrest.
• The Queen closed banks and several media outlets, then revealed that the Rothfield Family had betrayed the Empire at Delai Port.
• The Queen nationalized Rothfield assets, arrested its relatives in the Empire, and launched an investigation into Ite nobles who had concealed their identities.
• The Queen introduced tax, labor, banking, communications, information, and public demonstration reforms as Ite assets were frozen and borders sealed.
• Li Wei stayed home while the Jet Engine project lagged, then learned that Dr. Tester’s new power system had passed tests aboard the Cyclops.
• Li Wei gave Erin blueprints for a mecha and assured her that he had another power source in mind.

Li Wei searched the Rothfield Family’s records for clues about the flesh-and-blood tree and traced the White Cloud Peak’s route to a small southern country, but the war kept him from investigating further. He took the girls to the manor in Delicate, where Ovelia confided her concerns about the Queen’s plans and secured Li Wei’s promise to support her if the Baskerville Family lost power.

• Li Wei found few clues about the flesh-and-blood tree in the Rothfield Family’s records, but learned that the White Cloud Peak had sailed from a small southern country directly to Delai Port.
• Li Wei stayed in Fog City with Alice, Katie, Sophia, the Little Mermaid, and Kia because the Empire’s war prevented him from leaving for an investigation.
• Li Wei decided to take everyone on vacation to his manor in Delicate, and Ovelia welcomed them after arranging for the property to be maintained.
• Li Wei and the group arrived at the lakeside manor, where Ovelia said her family wanted her to marry and continue the Baskerville House.
• Ovelia worried that the Queen’s policies might end the Baskerville Family’s rule over Delicate, and Li Wei promised to support her if that happened.

At a bonfire party in Delicate, Li Wei sang a country song that inspired Ovelia to propose recording it for her radio station. A few days later, Li Wei visited the station to record songs and met its director, Lloyd Gottart, while a tiny twin-tailed sprite slipped into Gottart’s collar.

• Li Wei joined the Manor’s bonfire party, where Alice and the guests urged him to sing.
• Li Wei borrowed a guitar and performed “Country Roads,” winning enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
• Ovelia proposed recording the song for the radio, and Li Wei asked to use the studio to record songs for himself and his girls.
• After spending a day resting, Li Wei took the girls to the Delicate radio station with Ovelia.
• Ovelia introduced station director Lloyd Gottart, and a tiny twin-tailed sprite slipped into Gottart’s collar as Li Wei greeted him.

Li Wei recorded songs with Little Mermaid at Delicate’s remote radio station, then discussed his suspicions about the station operator, Gotat, with Ovelia. Gotat’s background checked out, but Li Wei noted signs that he might be more than an artist and planned to investigate further.

• Li Wei learned from Kia how the radio station converted sound into recording cards, then recorded songs while accompanying himself on guitar.
• Li Wei and Little Mermaid each recorded two songs, and the curly-haired station operator invited them back the next day to continue.
• Ovelia told Li Wei that Gotat’s verified history included studying at Francis Art Academy before returning to Delicate, but Li Wei questioned why he knew how to operate advanced recording equipment.
• Li Wei pointed out calluses on Gotat’s hand that suggested regular gun use, and asked Ovelia to investigate whether Gotat was a devout follower of the Holy Lord.
• Katie said Gotat seemed like a slightly strange person, while Li Wei noted that Gotat’s soul appeared white and decided to rest before taking further action.

Li Wei learned that broadcasting stations could read only Music Cards and Frequency Cards, then investigated Curly Head’s habit of staying alone after hours. Meanwhile, Little Mermaid found a cold, hostile underwater tomb and escaped an attack by enchanted waterweeds; she returned and warned Li Wei that she had encountered something terrifying.

• Curly Head inserted a Punched Card into the broadcasting station’s reader after everyone else had left and secretly adjusted the dial.
• Kia told Li Wei that broadcasting stations read Music Cards and Frequency Cards but could not receive signals.
• Little Mermaid explored a cave beneath the lake, followed an icy current past shipwrecks and bones, and found a submerged tomb.
• Waterweeds attacked Little Mermaid, but she tore through their net with a burst of sound and escaped back through the cave.
• Li Wei learned that Curly Head always handled the final late-night broadcast alone, then returned to the Manor.
• Little Mermaid sang ominous lyrics to Li Wei, confirmed that she had encountered something terrifying underwater, and he asked her to explain what happened.

Li Wei and Ovelia investigated the Lake of the Dead after a surge of disappearances, then drained it to expose what lay beneath. They found a sealed tomb marked with the All-Seeing Eye, while Li Wei continued to wonder why Gotat had returned to Delicate.

• Li Wei, Ovelia, and the Little Mermaid visited the Lake of the Dead, where the Little Mermaid confirmed that something dangerous lay underwater.
• Police officers told Li Wei and Ovelia that more than thirty people had disappeared in the lake since summer began, including a group of thirteen or fourteen youths.
• Li Wei proposed draining the lake rather than sending anyone into its dangerous waters, and Ovelia ordered pumps brought in.
• Ovelia told Li Wei that Gotat had once been a devout follower of the Holy Lord Church but had stopped attending since returning to Delicate.
• Workers alerted Li Wei and Ovelia after the receding water revealed a tomb with a sealed stone door and the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye.

Li Wei investigated a sealed site beneath a drained lake and learned from Buck’s vision that it was linked to a spreading plague. An elderly villager’s account connected the site to a cult the Holy Lord Church had supposedly destroyed, leaving Li Wei wondering whether Curly Head was involved.

• Li Wei and Ovelia examined the engraved stone door beneath the lake, while Ovelia sent a police officer to ask nearby villagers about the site.
• Li Wei questioned Buck by dangling him over the lake, and Buck showed him a vision of plague-bearing corpses and a giant tiger that swallowed them into the earth.
• Li Wei noticed that Buck’s vision seemed misleading and suspected it contained a clue about the site’s history.
• The police officer returned with word of an elderly woman who knew stories about the lake, and Li Wei went with Ovelia to speak to her.
• The elderly woman told Li Wei and Ovelia that a cult demanding child sacrifices had once operated at the Lake of the Dead, until a Holy Lord Church priest led armed men there and returned alone after a day and night.
• Li Wei learned that the priest had also taken knights up a mountain and returned alone, and wondered whether the events were connected to Curly Head.

Li Wei investigated why the Holy Lord Church had concealed an old operation at the lake and suspected the incident was tied to Curly and the sealed stone door. After Kia modified the radio, Li Wei picked up a mysterious late-night broadcast repeating “Samus” as the stone door trembled.

• Ovelia told Li Wei that the local Holy Lord Church bishops knew nothing about an operation to eradicate cultists.
• Li Wei theorized that the Church’s operation had gone wrong, that its knights had died, and that the surviving priest had concealed a disturbing secret about the cultists.
• Li Wei connected Curly’s family’s devotion to the Holy Lord Church and his father’s death to the Empire’s break with the Church, while suspecting Curly’s nighttime radio transmissions.
• Kia modified the radio to receive every band, and Li Wei waited with her for Curly’s broadcast to end.
• Li Wei monitored the trembling stone door as Kia tuned the radio and found a longwave transmission repeating “Samus.”
• Li Wei said they should ask an expert what “Samus” meant and picked up the Communication Machine receiver.

Li Wei learned from Elizabeth Delaney that Samus was a heretical incarnation of the Holy Lord associated with plague and corruption, and that fire could destroy it. He then ordered Ovelia to arrest the curly-haired man broadcasting the heretical name, and Ovelia prepared to raid the radio station.

• Li Wei asked Elizabeth Delaney about Samus and learned that ancient heretical teachings described it as the Holy Lord’s incarnation of calamity and plague.
• Elizabeth told Li Wei that Samus and its servants appeared mainly in water and could be cleansed with fire, though fire was difficult to use underwater.
• Li Wei thanked Elizabeth and called Ovelia, telling her to arrest the curly-haired man for spreading heresy on the radio.
• Ovelia recognized the danger of cultists using her radio station and prepared to lead people there immediately.

Ovelia and the Delicate police arrested Curly Head at the radio station and brought him to Li Wei, who confirmed that Curly Head knew about Samus and ordered him sent to Military Intelligence Section Seven. Li Wei then turned to the drained lake, where the next step was to clear mines after daybreak.

• Ovelia sent Little Black into the radio station, where it captured Curly Head in the broadcasting room.
• The police arrested Curly Head, and Ovelia recovered a Punched Card marked with the All-Seeing Eye.
• Ovelia took Curly Head to the lakeside, where Li Wei questioned him about the card and his knowledge of Samus.
• Curly Head revealed that he had read about Samus in the Holy Scripture, and Li Wei ordered him sent to Military Intelligence Section Seven.
• Li Wei said specialists would handle mine clearance at the drained lake once it was light.

Li Wei and Ovelia decided to deal with the plague sealed beneath the lake before their enemies could release it. Li Wei prepared a containment plan with Little Mermaid and led the group toward the sealed chamber.

• Li Wei explained that the sealed plague threatened Delicate, and Ovelia weighed waiting until winter against the Queen’s wish to resolve the danger quickly.
• Anthony reported that Curly Head had been trained in Francis and ordered to broadcast the plague, though the supposed church connection seemed suspicious.
• Ovelia asked Li Wei how they could limit the plague’s spread, and he proposed burning the lakebed plants and refilling the lake to about one meter deep.
• Military Intelligence Section Seven burned the aquatic plants while Ovelia’s people pumped river water back into the lake.
• Little Mermaid created a vast dome of water over the lake, and Li Wei checked the Persuader and Punisher before ordering everyone to proceed.

Li Wei and Katie entered the sealed underground chamber wearing protective gear and discovered a red, living figure guarded by knights with glowing souls. As they investigated the passage, Li Wei found evidence that the priest’s knights had destroyed the murals and killed a child, and the pair approached the lower level to uncover what had happened.

• Li Wei and Katie prepared with gas masks, protective clothing, a flamethrower, and the Little Mermaid’s water barrier before opening the stone door.
• Li Wei sent a Little Sprite through the doorway and found a red winged figure in a chamber guarded by knights whose souls glowed red.
• Katie forced open the stone door, and Li Wei led her down the corridor, where he saw that the murals had been deliberately smashed.
• Li Wei found a child’s skeleton with wounds suggesting the knights had attacked its limbs before stabbing its skull.
• Li Wei and Katie reached the spiral staircase leading farther down, where Li Wei expected to find answers.

Li Wei and Katie confronted the Plague Child and the corrupted holy knights in the temple’s great hall. After their attacks weakened the monster but the fire consumed the room’s oxygen, Li Wei decided they had to retreat.

• Li Wei found the remains of the Priest’s holy knights and discovered seven corrupted knights guarding the Plague Child in the great hall.
• Li Wei ordered Katie to attack with her flamethrower, and he shot a knight that charged through the flames.
• Li Wei used explosive spiders to destroy the knights’ legs and drive them back into the fire.
• The flames dwindled after consuming the room’s oxygen, revealing that the Plague Child had survived and was clinging to the ceiling.
• Katie struck the Plague Child with the flamethrower tube while Li Wei fired incendiary rounds, but their attacks failed to stop it.
• Li Wei grabbed Katie and signaled for them to run.

Li Wei and Katie eliminated the Plague Child in the Underground Temple, and Li Wei collected his mission rewards before returning to Fog City. Worried about the lifespan cost of facing stronger monsters, he asked the Old Butler for supernatural cases so he could build up a reserve.

• Katie ran while Li Wei distracted the fly monster, blasted open its abdomen, and destroyed it with an oxygen-cylinder explosion and Reality Anchoring.
• Li Wei confirmed the monster was gone, and the others prepared to disinfect and demolish the Underground Temple.
• Li Wei received an SSS rating and rewards, but noted that Reality Anchoring had cost him 300 days of lifespan.
• After staying at the Manor for two days, Li Wei returned to Fog City with the girls and decided to take weaker cases to stockpile lifespan.
• Li Wei asked the Old Butler for supernatural cases, and the Old Butler agreed to review the available cases and contact him.

Li Wei investigated the deaths of Gamma squad and found that all three victims had become fearful and withdrawn after their last mission. He suspected their teammate Susie Taran’s death at the Monastery was not an accident and decided to investigate there.

• Li Wei interviewed witnesses who described Hank, Cole, and Jackson being violently killed after returning from a work trip.
• The witnesses said Hank had begun drinking heavily, Cole had become terrified and wanted a divorce, and Jackson had isolated himself and burned his books.
• Li Wei reviewed Gamma squad’s final report and learned that medium Susie Taran had died during a haunting investigation at the Monastery.
• Li Wei concluded Susie’s death might not have been an accident and chose to begin his investigation at the Monastery.

Li Wei investigated Gamma Squad’s vague report about missing nuns and prepared to investigate the unregistered Monastery himself. He and Katie and Sister Elizabeth reached the mist-covered mountains, where Li Wei’s [Soul Sight] could not reveal whether the nearby town held any living creatures, and began the journey toward it.

• Li Wei examined the victims’ bodies, found no useful marks, and read Gamma Squad’s brief report about the Monastery haunting.
• Li Wei and Katie noted that the report omitted key details about the evil spirit, missing nuns, purification ritual, and Susie’s death, while the Monastery had no record with the Holy Lord Church or local authorities.
• Li Wei arranged for Sister Elizabeth to accompany the investigation and ordered the Eye of the Sky to land near the town because dense fog made landing near the Monastery unsafe.
• Li Wei, Katie, and Sister Elizabeth left the airship, and Li Wei told Lieutenant Horn to wait for his signal before opening fire.
• Li Wei found that [Soul Sight] showed nothing in the town, warned his companions to be cautious, and led them along the mist-covered path.